4 Hours or Bust!

One of my big goals of 2010 is to run a marathon in under 4 hours! It’s a goal I hate to even admit on the blog because I know it’s going to be very very hard for me and I am very very scared :/

But, I came clean with my goals toward the beginning of the year so I might as well share my plan for accomplishing this dream with you.

Yesterday I was going through our huge pile of mail that came in while I was on vacation and was happy to see my latest issue of Runner’s World had arrived. I was flipping though it and stumbled upon a plan to run a four hour marathon!

It must be a sign! So, I decided to just bite the bullet and plan to run my next mary in under four hours following this plan with a few modifications for my life, travels and body.

I am excited. I am scared. I will be writing about my training here

I have only run 2 marathons so far. My PR is actually my first marathon at 4:15!

But, my most recent mary in January was 4:27 I blame the time difference on

a.) being sick and b.) not training enough (darn winter in MD)

I know I have a very long and hard road of training ahead of me, but I’m at least going to try and go for it. I really wanted to run Long Beach in October, but think I need to do at least one half mary before I do another full. But, there’s one problem – I cannot find a half marathon in SoCal in Aug. or Sept (except for the AFC in San Diego the weekend I’m out of town, fail).

Please let me know if you are aware of a half marathon within 200 miles of Orange County in late July to Sept. Thanks!

I will make my final decision on my next full marathon around whether or not I find a half marathon before Long Beach which is Oct. 17th.

I didn’t have time for breakfast before Strike! this morning, so I just chugged some iced coffee and called it fuel.

When I got back I made a big smoothie with protein powder, ice, almond milk, spinach, chia seeds and xantham gum.

Plus a sandwich thin with PB on the side. Trader Joes is out of my fave Flax Almond Butter again They have been really failing me on this lately. Boo.

Now I am off to meet my friend Kristin for lunch See you later gators…

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Comments

I’m doing the AFC half! I’m so nervous though…I’m fairly new to the running thing. And I am SLOW as crap (like sometimes you say you are, but I’m way slower than you). Anyway, the Disneyland 1/2 is Labor Day weekend but I guess it’s full. Is Santa Barbara too far away? There’s the Pier to Peak Half Marathon, also Labor Day. I found all those here: http://www.halfmarathons.net/race_calendar_california.html which is actually a really cool site so I’m glad I had a reason to search.

YAY!!! I am doing the half in Long Beach there are a million of us from nor-cal that are doing it! We will have to meet up.

I know that SF is much further up north, but the SF half is at the end of July AND if you run it Long Beach and Surf City you get a big fancy medal and jacket – its called the california dreamin series.

You can totally do it. I am pissed that I will probably never run a marathon again because my goal was to do it in 3:45. I was over-trained for my first marathon (SD Rock & Roll) and I ran in the second hottest LA Marathon for my 2nd time. Seriously, it was scorching. My time was 4:06 for my first and I think 4:07 for my second.

WOOHOO!! As luck would have it, thats my goal too, and I was SO PUMPED to get runners world!! My PR is 4:36, but it was a mary where it was so hot that they cancelled the race after 5 hours, AND ran out of water, so i feel pretty pumped i got to finish!!

I know you can do it!!
I was going to suggest that San Diego half, but you already said you’re going to be out of town. A friend from my gym (who has run 15 marathons!!) is running in that AFC half marathon in San Diego.
Good luck with all your training. It’ll be hard, no doubt, but so worth it in the end.

Don’t stress out too much and enjoy your training period. Sometimes things just fall into place. We all have goals, but it will be a better experience if we enjoy the journey. I am training for Chicago in October and need to cut 20 mins off my time to BQ so I understand the anxiety. I am excited to get started on chipping away at that PR time. Good luck on your training and try to find your happy running zone!

I am so excited that you’re doing this plan! I saw this the other day and plan to do it next year after baby has arrived. Can’t wait to follow your progress and hear what you think of the plan. Best of luck in reaching your goal!!! I’ll be rooting for you!

You and I have the same goal. I am planning on running my 4th marathon this fall and my goal is sub 4 as well. The Runner’s World article came out at a perfect time, right. I look forward to following your training….good luck!

San Francisco Half on 7/25. Do the first half and you can run over the Golden Gate. There’s also a HM in Camarillo in early October. Why not do the Long Beach Half, and then Surf City Full on Super Bowl Sunday? Both Long Beach and Surf City are good (meaning flat) PR courses, but Surf City is *really* monotonous (out and back and then out and back again). Long Beach is the nicer/more scenic course.

Also, check out http://www.raceplace.com for all races in and around Southern California (Santa Barbara south to San Diego).

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or registered dietitian. The views I express are mine alone, based on my own experiences, and should not be taken as medical advice. I am a certified running coach, but am sharing my own training - not providing a program for you. Please speak with a medical professional before making any changes to your diet or exercise. Affiliates: Please note that affiliate links and sponsored posts may pop up on RER from time to time. I greatly appreciate your support! More »